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Draft oil spill legislation to be released within a week – Jagdeo
Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo
Kaieteur News – The Government of Guyana will within one week release draft oil spill legislation to the public for extensive consultations, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo disclosed on Thursday.
Jagdeo was at the time addressing reporters at his weekly press conference held at Freedom House, Robb Street, Georgetown.
The Vice President said that the legislative framework will set out the proposed procedures for oil spill preparation, planning and response as well as issues relating to liabilities and damages. It will detail the state’s responsibilities and those accountable in the event of an oil spill, whether it be companies operating in the sector or a shipping company.
“Within a week, we’ll get a draft for the Environmental Spill Legislation to ensure that we safeguard the country; fortify it with a law that forces these companies to own liability should there be an oil spill,” he told reporters at a press conference on Thursday.
At a previous press conference, Jagdeo said that the administration is actively studying similar legislation of other countries including the United States (US), to incorporate relevant positions.
“So we have been working at this for a while now, looking at how we strengthen legislatively, so we can have clear legislation on how to tackle these things, there is no ambiguity, just in case these things happen,” the Vice President said.
He underscored the importance of clarity and fairness, stressing the need for independent mechanism to resolve disputes regarding compensation for spills. He noted, “Often oil companies argue if the government comes up with a figure for compensation…they will argue (for) a different figure. So an independent fair mechanism for all of those things.”
Jagdeo further explained that the Government’s aim is to strengthen the law governing any situation in the event of an oil spill.
“We will determine responsibilities both from the states side and from the parties causing the spill, we will determine liabilities in the act who will be liable for what, we would have to have a mechanism that allows us to immediately tackle the consequences of the spill but also a mechanism that could lead to resolution to things like compensation etcetera,” Jagdeo told reporters.
The Vice President also addressed the complexities surrounding liability in cases involving vessels hired by oil companies, highlighting the gaps in existing regulations. He said the new law will cater for spills that occur during the transport of petroleum products.
Jagdeo said, “So if a vessel were to have a blowout, one of these big vessels transporting oil and gas…they may not be associated with Exxon, this is a company that they hire. So who is liable in that instance? And how do we enforce the liability? All of these are questions that we would look at in the legislation.”
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